Liberal Progressive Party (Kirlawa)
The Liberal Progressive Party are a major political party in the People's Republic of Kirlawa. At current, they are a major party in the Federal People's Assembly, controlling 80 out of 300 seats as well as seven Cabinet ministries. The party is a founding member of the North Artanian Moderate-Leftist Unity Coalition. History Republic of Kirlawa (2245-2289) Free Democratic Union of Kirlawa (2289-2337) Free Union of Kirlawa (2337-) The Liberal Progressive Party, following the formation of the four Kirlawan states (under the Four-State Solution), continued the bulk of its operations in its Civil War location in Free Union of Kirlawa territory, while affliating to the smaller Social Liberal Party and assisting its formation in the Democratic Republic of Kirlawa. The party was one of three to contest elections in 2337, which gave the LPP 82 seats in the 300-seat House, putting them third but allowing them to form a coalition with Kirlawa Democratic Labour to form a Cabinet. In this Cabinet, eight Liberal Progressives were present, including Foreign Minister Thomas York, Defence Minister Phillip Barnwell and Infrastructure Minister Barthomolew Cates. The period immediately after the elections was marked by some early public disagreement in the party. Sean Barnwell, an Uwakan MP, was at the forefront of the concern about DRK moves regarding the eligibility of parties at the first election, and was joined by a handful of other MPs. The issue did not develop further and is considered to have faded away. In the government, Thomas York continued to be vocal in his role as Foreign Minister, holding a number of talks with officials, particularly those from the DRK. Defence Minister Barnwell announced the retaining of nuclear weapons in Free Union territory, while Cates launched a program to rebuild the roads and transport links of the nation. These moves were not met with much coverage from international media, and in the elections of 2341 the Liberal Progressives ended up making net gains of three seats in the House, allowing them to return to government with an increased coalition majority. In the Senate, four gains gave the party leadership of the coalition there, with Earnan Geoghegan becoming Leader of the Government in the Senate. With a second-term mandate, York launched talks with the Democratic Republic of Kirlawa and Dorvish-Uwakah, reportedly intending to unite the three states into the Free Union of Kirlawa - something DRK officials had already expressed their desire to do. York also went on a stronger anti-fascist line, with a condemnation of the National Progress Party in August 2342 making national headlines http://www.takeforum.com/particracy/viewtopic.php?p=131037&mforum=particracy#131037. During the course of 2343, York support for moderates in Dorvik became vocal, with early in the year many stunned by his outward support for under-fire Foreign Minister Ralf Hutter of the Green Coalition http://www.takeforum.com/particracy/viewtopic.php?p=131038&mforum=particracy#131038. This caused another split in the party as left-wingers, lead by Dirlanan MP Alexander Brays, were openly critical of this relationship and the increasing closeness between the two parties. In 2343, following reforms to the system, local elections saw a slightly poor performance for the Liberal Progressives, after the party won a total of 4,072 councillors (out of 24,654) and 115 (out of 823) council leadership while the Free Liberal Party increased its influence. Much of this was blamed on the traditional local support for Labour and independent politicians, although some critics mused on the slight division in the party as a possible problem. The party's plight became worse following the 2346 elections, where the presence of the party in the House of Representatives fell to just 56 seats. This co-incided with the loss of one Cabinet minister - Frances Clarke, Minister of Tourism - who was replaced with interim Minister George Harrison until the next day when Clarke became a member of the Free Senate. This caused some uproar, but Clarke resisted calls to resign and continued to serve into the early 2350s. Thomas York announced his retirement in 2348, despite a steady state in the polls (admittely below the performance at the previous election). A leadership race took place to succeed him (see Liberal Progressive Party leadership election, 2349) with radical young reformer Neil Blunson surprising all when he defeated the established candidates including Ben Williams and Robert Massey, backed by the SLG and PSA factions (see the section on Factions) respectively. Blunson failed to make major inroads in the 2349 federal elections, but carried on with the goal of reforming the party to make it a more people-based and federal structure. As the years went by, the Liberal Progressives rose in power, becoming near-undisputed leaders of the FUK, particularly after the collapse of Kirlawa Democratic Labour. The party drifted to the left and in the Second Kirlawan Civil War took an aggressively anti-Rutanian and anti-Dundorfian fascist stance. People's Republic of Kirlawa (2369-) After the re-union of Kirlawa, the party continued leftwards but in foreign policy became far more isolationist due to the appointment to the Foreign Ministry of leading young moderate Jamie Grayson. Neil Blunson became Prime Minister in the first cabinet and maintained this position in the second. The LPP have been the major government party in all elections since the start of the People's Republic and Toby Phillips has been elected First Citizen three times in a row. Political views Factions The Liberal Progressive Party has many major factions advocating different courses within it. Active *Social Liberty Group - The largest centrist organisation in the party, the Social Liberty Group is firmly on the right of the party. Influential members have included Ben Williams, Laura Grant, George Jarvis and Keith Morgan. *Progressive Socialist Alliance - The largest leftist block in the party and firmly to the left on social and economic issues, on party and real terms. Influential members have included Dan Dawkins, Sean Greenwood, Mark Kire and Justin Lee, and at current Andrew O'Roan and Ethan Glaze are the most major members. *Democracy and Peace - A middle-of-the-road group in the centre of the party with much influence. Influential members have included Joseph Edwards and Thomas York. *Reformist Block - A block set up in support of Neil Blunson after his successful campaign for leadership of the LPP. Blunson is not a member, although members include Jamie Grayson and Eilis Shay. *Justice and Capitalism - A mostly defunct group, most of whose members left the party at the formation of the Free Liberal Party of Kirlawa. Influential members have included Stephen Haines. *Liberalist Freedom - A recently revived group who have ties with the FLPK. Influential members have included John Humphries and Emilia Martin, and more recently Ainsley Clifton. *Kawaii Left - A minor faction of pro-CandyKids cultural leftists. Influential members have included Yakirii Autosaidaa. *Unaffliated - Unaffliated members are a fairly major group in the party. There are various unaffliated 'groupings' including Blunsonites, conservative progressives, libertarian socialists and militarist moderates. Leadership Leaders *Joseph Edwards (2236-2275) *Keith Martin (2275-2302) *Thomas York (2302-2349) *Neil Blunson (2349-) Deputy Leaders *Edward Clark (2236-2263) *Mark Kire (2263-2315) *Brian Cullen (2315-2321) *John Humphries (2321-2333) *Jay Holt (2333) *Frederick Harrison (2333-2337) *Henry Tralyn (2337-2338) *Justin Lee (2338-2365) *Toby Phillips (2365-) Cabinet Ministers People's Republic of Kirlawa *Neil Blunson - Prime Minister, 2370- *Declan Tinsley - Minister of Defence, 2370- *Jamie Grayson - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2370- *François Martin - Minister of Food and Agriculture, 2376- *Nathan Mercer - Minister of Trade and Industry, 2376- *Andrew O'Roan - Minister of Trade and Industry, 2370-6 *Andrew O'Roan - Minister of Finance, 2376- *Christina Reddy - Minister of Environment and Tourism, 2370-6 *Valerie Rock - Minister of Food and Agriculture, 2370-6 *Ben Williams - Minister of Education and Culture, 2370- Election results Republic of Kirlawa (2245-2289) House of Representatives Presidential Curator Pacis Free Democratic Union of Kirlawa (2289-2337) House of Representatives Kirlawan Senate Curator Pacis Free Union of Kirlawa (2337-) Free House of Representatives Free Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives Divided Territories of Kirlawa (2337-) Pan-National Council Presiding Officer Category:Liberal Progressive Party (Kirlawa)